Abstract Body: Biomedical research is at a critical juncture: while technological advances enable unprecedented insight into cardiovascular disease (CVD), the environmental cost of such discovery remains under-addressed. High-throughput omics and data-intensive computational workflows carry substantial energy demands, contributing to a growing but largely invisible carbon footprint in science. This project advocates for an integrated approach to sustainability in biomedical research, emphasizing experimental efficiency, data reuse, and responsible design without compromising scientific rigor.

Using a fasting intervention as an illustrative case, we present a study on Buchinger fasting—a 5-day, very-low-calorie fasting protocol—shown to reduce blood pressure and improve cardiometabolic parameters. Prior work by Maifeld et al. (2021) demonstrated that fasting could lead to significant blood pressure reductions and decreased reliance on antihypertensive medications. However, individual response variability remains poorly understood. Our follow-up study aims to replicate and extend these findings in a hypertensive cohort, combining clinical measures with multi-omics profiling and machine learning. Early data suggest microbial signatures and metabolic profiles can help predict fasting responses, enabling the design of personalized, non-pharmacological interventions for hypertension.

Importantly, we evaluate the environmental impact of each research phase—from patient logistics to bioinformatics analysis—quantifying energy use and CO₂ emissions. We show that strategic experimental planning, such as optimized study design, dataset sharing, and lean computational modeling, can substantially reduce research-related emissions. The project proposes actionable sustainability guidelines tailored to cardiovascular research, creating a replicable model for eco-conscious science.

In merging precision medicine with sustainable practice, this project demonstrates that strategic planning can reduce the environmental burden of biomedical research while preserving scientific quality. By using the blood pressure response to fasting as a case study, we highlight how individualized interventions can be developed more efficiently—both clinically and ecologically—setting a practical precedent for future cardiovascular studies.